Good morning parish. 

Every Thursday night, there’s a Family Holy Hour at St. John’s 7 - 8 pm.  I'm looking to form a Holy Hour Family Prayer Group that will be committed to attending this Holy Hour each Thursday evening or to offer a Holy Hour on Friday adoration to pay for families in our parish. 

There’s a terrible spiritual disease gripping many people today. It’s called indifference. This poison in the heart renders a person spiritually dead, giving them a laissez-faire attitude regarding their faith. It’s the work of the evil one that drives a person to spiritual turpitude.  It’s the same sin at Eden couched in 21st-century language- ‘don’t worry, everything will be OK. God still loves you. Live and let live.’   And while it’s true that God always loves us, God also requests us to live for him in all things. But the indifferent heart couldn’t care less leading them to the sin of presumption, the corruption that everything will be OK, that there is no final judgment, and that everyone, no matter who they are or what they do,  attends to eternal life with God.  

In the coming weeks in the Church, the Sunday Gospel will be The Sermon On The Mount, which destroys all notions of spiritual presumption.  These are the essential teachings of Jesus Christ, the new moral order, the new commandments of God, and the most accurate meaning of discipleship.   They show the type of person Jesus Christ is and the type of person He wants us to be to receive everlasting life. The Sermon On The Mount changed the face of the world forever. And it all begins with The Beatitudes, which we will hear this weekend at Mass. 

The first Beatitude says it all and sets up the totality of discipleship in a straightforward sentence- Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Without poverty of spirit, total humbleness, and humility before the living God, there can be no eternal life (kingdom of heaven). A poverty of spirit relies on God as the eternal Father that seeks to please him daily, placing our lives in his gentle, loving, and merciful hands.  A poverty of spirit destroys presumption, crushes indifference, and annihilates the laissez-faire attitudes of life. And how much we need this virtue today, especially in our parish. 

Finally, I also strongly suggest to all the people in the parish – to pay close attention to the teachings of Jesus over the next couple of weeks in the Sermon On The Mount. These teachings will do what Jesus intended - transform us inwardly to live the fullness of our baptismal call each day.   Listen attentively with an open heart. The Sermon On The Mount can be found in the Gospel Of St. Matthew, Chapters 5 – 7.  Read it, study it, and pray with it every day over the next couple of weeks. 

If you wish to commit to praying for families with me each week, don’t hesitate to contact me via [email protected], and I will add you to the list of prayer warriors for family life. 

Finally, it might also be good to do this at St. Charles. Wednesday night would be best.  And a bi-lingual English-Spanish Holy Hour, too. I’ll keep you posted.  

Have a joyous day. 

Fr. Palatucci

PREP CHANGES EFFECTIVE SEPTEMBER 2022

1) Confirmation will take place after 6th grade.
2) Service hours will be reduced or even eliminated. (More to come)
3) Usual class times and days remain in effect.
4) Upon completion of the 6th grade, a 6-week crash course will be required for all Confirmation candidates beginning the first week of September. This class can be written off if the student attends Camp Veritas in August.
5) Confirmation will be in mid/late October.
6) For this year only: All those students who have completed the PREP 6th and 7th grades will be eligible for Confirmation in October 2022.
7) Free tuition for the upcoming year with the possibility of free education permanently or reduced significantly. (Keep in mind there are bills to pay for Fr. Moriarty Hall – propane for heat, electricity, salary for the religious education director. But if I can reach a point where families don’t have to pay anything, I will do that)

Mass Is Class…Class Is Mass

Here’s the catch. I take two years off the religious education requirement. You give me Sunday Mass every Sunday, every grade year.
1) Each student will be given a set of numbered cards (the amount is being worked out but expect a minimum of 52. Christmas and Easter are mandatory, no excuses.)
2) The cards will be handed to the pastor or his delegate after Mass. The student and no one else must hand these in. They cannot be put in a collection box, on a table, or given to an usher.
3) They will be given eight weeks free each year. Be wise about how you miss a Mass. If a student misses more than 8 Masses, they will have to repeat the year. Class is now Mass, and Mass is now class. That's the new attendance schedule.
4) Mass attendance begins September 1 and ends August 31 of the following year.
5) Parent(s) or adult family member must accompany the student to Sunday Mass. (Why would any parent leave a child by themselves at Mass is beyond me. If I can get the whole family at Mass, that would be beautiful. But student(s) accompanied by an adult will suffice. )
Two years less of cold winter nights driving to PREP. Two years less of being dead tired and trudging your child off to PREP at 6 PM. You don't want to. They don't want to, especially 7th and 8th graders who are naturally cranky anyway. I think it's a fair exchange! And a super easy one at that.
You might ask, "Is there another option?" There may be in the future that I will consider. But for now, this is the system we have in place.
I think we have a fair system in the making here. And I also think it will be an excellent one at that.

Prayers, Fr. Palatucci

Good Morning,
Tomorrow we have our Mardi Gras breakfast immediately following all Masses at both churches.  Please stop by for some delicious food and a slice of authentic King Cake, which contains the baby Jesus doll. The person who finds the doll will get a prize! 

I am seeking a Spanish-language translator to help put together a Spanish-language section for our weekly bulletin.  The requirements are easy but have fairly strict time constraints.   If you can help out in this work, please speak to Father after Mass or contact him at the parish office.  

Lent begins this Wednesday.  Please see today’s bulletin for the fasting and abstinence requirements during this holy season. 

For Ash Wednesday, St. John’s will have two Masses that day where ashes will be distributed: the usual daily 8 AM Mass and 7:15 PM Mass later that evening. 

At St. Charles, ashes will be distributed at the usual Wednesday Noon Mass and again at 6:30 PM Spanish Mass.  
 

These will be the only liturgies offered at our parish that day.  

Stations Of The Cross…will take place each Friday throughout the season of Lent. 

• At St. Charles stations will take place a Noon in English and in Spanish at 7 PM. 
• St. John's stations will take place at 7:15 PM. 

Have a blessed week. 

Fr. Palatucci 

I’m sure you’ve all heard by now that Fr. Thomas is leaving us and into a new assignment. Sad time for our parish. Fr. Thomas has been here for seven years now. And many of you have had a close  Relationship with him since that time. So his leaving us I’m sure is difficult for you. You have grown to love him and embrace his goodness. He has been an exceptional priest to you and serves you in
the capacity that is expected of a priest, and then some!

It is for me as well. I’ve grown to know and love Fr. Thomas in the four years I’ve been here. He’s more than a brother priest. He’s a friend and trustworthy and a good one at that. He’s a hardworking, kind, and generous priest. He loves his vocation and it shows every day but particularly in visiting the sick.
I will say this much about him - he’s inspiring as a priest and the excellent work he does for the Lord and His Church.

So thank you so much for being the superb priest that is you are, Fr. Thomas. And thank you for always being there for me when I needed to do a switch or a change in the schedule. You were always so open and agreeable to that. I’m sure the people at Resuscitation in Rye will welcome you with open arms and bear witness to the goodness that is innate within you.

This turnaround has been too quick. But such as it is sometimes in the priesthood. It can be difficult when priests need to do as their bishop asks. But that’s what we signed up for, to be obedient to the will of the bishop. You get the call, and then you must be obedient to his needs. This is the way we do it in the priesthood. It’s like being in the military in some respects. When the order comes, the priest is
expected to respond positively. I can only wish that Fr. Thomas were both given enough time to make this change. But that’s the way the ball rolls sometimes. 

God bless you, Fr. Thomas. Go with God. And be the great priest that you were here to the good people in Resurrection. You will be missed sorely.

Fr. Thomas new address is:
Church of the Resurrection
910 Boston Post Road
Rye, NY 10580

A Word About Our Cemeteries

Over the next few months many of the trees and shrubbery in both cemeteries will be 
removed. While I fully understand the sentiments of planting trees and shrubbery in 
memory of a loved one who has passed away, over time they become invasive and can 
damage the plots and headstones near them. 

When a family buys a cemetery plot from the parish, the deed does not mean you have 
purchased the property to be used as your own land. It only gives the holder the right to 
burial on that property. The parish is the owner of the land and reserves the right to regulate 
the property to preserve the sacredness of the consecrated grounds. This may mean 
discarding mementos, pulling up and pruning shrubbery and trees, and not allowing anything 
to be placed on or around headstones that can pose a danger to others or degrade the dignity 
of the grave site. 

Also, if you have any items that are placed on the ground near a headstone, please remove 
them as soon as possible. If you wish to leave some kind of memento at the plot of a loved 
one, please put it on top of the headstone and not on the ground. Items left on the ground 
can present a danger when the grass is cut. Items made of metal, plastic, or glass can create 
shards when lawn cutting equipment runs over them and may damage the machinery. More 
importantly, they can be violently ejected by the machinery and cause injury to the operator 
or anyone else who happens to be nearby. The landscapers should not have to stop and pick 
up items each time they set out to cut the grass. Effective immediately, I am giving them my 
permission to dispose of these types of items before they ruin the grass cutting equipment. 
My goal is to create beautiful cemeteries for all the families to enjoy. It will take work and 
patience, but I hope that it will be accomplished. If you need a model to consider, a good 
example can be found at Quaker Hill Cemetery. It is free of most trees and shrubbery and 
very few items are allowed on or near the graves and plots. 

I hope you understand this situation and why it needs to be changed. I’m fully aware of 
your concerns and even your disagreement with this decision. But the shrubbery and tree 
situation is out of hand and needs to be remedied. 

If you have any questions or concerns about this, feel free to contact me at the parish email 
([email protected]), or you may call me at the office. 

Prayfully, Fr. Palatucci 

An extended Pentecost Vigil will take place on Saturday May 22
This year our parish will offer the unique but rarely used Pentecost Vigil on Saturday May 22 beginning at 4:30 PM at St. John’s. This liturgy is similar the Easter Vigil and will go a bit longer than usual.  It is structured thus:

• Four Old Testament readings followed by a chanted Psalm and then a prayer.
• A sung Gloria.
• A New Testament reading.
• The Gospel.
• The Veni Spiritus will also be sung.

The Mass should last about 90 minutes.  For those who usually attend the 5 PM Saturday Mass, please be forewarned.

Reconciliation will not be heard Saturday afternoon at the regular time. Instead, it will be offered
Friday, May 21st during a special Pentecost Holy Hour beginning at 7 PM.

St. Charles will have the usual Pentecost Mass at 4 PM on Saturday May 22 preceded by Penance and Reconciliation 2:30-3:30 PM.

And don’t forget to wear red for Pentecost.

Beware of False Prophets

Recently I read on a Facebook page of a person claiming to have the authority to administer sacraments even though they are not an ordained minister of the Catholic Church. As a reminder no Catholic in good conscience can seek any sacrament from a person claiming to be an "ordained" minister. No one can be a self-proclaimed minister of the sacramental life handed unto to the Church by Jesus Christ Himself. The sacraments were given to us by the Lord Jesus. They're not ours to do with them as we wish. When a sacrament is administered its always Christ himself who does the action through the hands of a validly ordained minister of the Catholic Church. This is part of our Deposit of Faith. It needs to be cherished and protected at all costs without compromise. (The only other Church which have valid seven sacraments are the Eastern Orthodox.)

Sacraments are the means by which a soul receives eternal life and avoids eternal damnation.
Any Catholic who seek sacraments by another means does so at their own risk. Any person who
claims this authority on their own has not received it from God but by their own man-made “church”.
They are administering them invalidly which have no good effect on the soul. In fact, just the opposite
takes place and is detrimental to the soul, incurring an even greater sin. Catholics must always seek
the sacraments from a validly ordained minister of the Catholic Church only. Nowhere else. These are
ordered below: 

• Deacons: Baptize and perform marriage ceremonies.
• Priests: All sacraments except ordain clergy of the Church. A priest can offer Confirmation but only by special permission from his bishop. 
• Bishops: Administer all seven sacraments.

Any person not validly ordained offers no absolution of sins even if they say the correct absolution
formula. 

Any Catholic who seeks marriage with this kind of person has an invalid marriage; no sacrament has taken place. This includes a justice of the peace, judges, and any member of another ecclesial community if the Catholic has not sought proper dispensation from the bishop. Any anointing of the sick or last rites brings no sacramental healing or forgiving grace on the soul. 

Anyone besides a validly ordained Catholc priest or bishop may never confect the Eucharist or offer Mass.

As a side note, the Church recognizes all Christian sects' baptisms if the proper Trinitarian formula as used – I baptize you in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. There are some cults and sects that do not have a valid baptism. These include Jehovah Witness, Mormon, Salvation Army, Unitarians/Universalists, Church of the New Jerusalem, Christian Scientist, Church of Divine Science, Christadelphians, Apostolic Church, Bohemian Free Thinkers and Pentecostal. These do not have valid baptisms and are not recognized by the Church.

Please avoid individuals or situations like this. At best, the intention might be admirable (or at least I hope it is), but the method is illicit and invalid. But at worst these actions could be done with a devious,
malicious intent. For example, if a Catholic seeks absolution of sins in confession, the priest or bishop
is under pain of excommunication never to reveal those sins to anyone under no circumstances, not
even to the penitent, once the absolution has been granted. But a person who claims to be ordained
and asserts the power of absolution can reveal those sins to others with no consequence, and could do
so with an evil intent such as blackmail, etc. So why would any Catholic trust that?

The sacraments are the generosity of God's manifold wisdom, grace, and love for humanity. They're the most precious of all gifts having in them goodness and beauty far superior to all the combined precious metals or stones in the universe. Catholics need to relearn these gifts from God and cherish them as if their lives depended upon them because it does spiritually. They are how we receive life in Christ and union with Him eternally. It is how we get to heaven and avoid condemnation.

 Have a blessed Lent!
 Your pastor, Fr. John F. X. Palatucci 

Dear Parishioners,  

As you know, St. Charles Rectory was put up for sale last year. The sale was finalized in October 2020. I apologize for waiting so long to inform you about the details of the sale. Not getting this information to you sooner was no more than a misstep on my part. 

Part of the reason for the delay was due to the end sum of the sale. I received a letter from the Archdiocese of New York (ADNY) in October, explaining the final sale of the property. Quite frankly, I was disappointed and voiced this to the Archdiocese. In my initial conversation with them, I was under the impression the parish would get the bulk of revenue from the sale, which we did not. Below is the breakdown of the sale and how much we received as quoted in part from the letter the ADNY wrote to me in October:

"Saint John, the Evangelist/Saint Charles Borromeo Parish, is in strong financial condition [...] and no outstanding obligations to archdiocesan programs[...]. However, it is noted that the archdiocese has incurred expenses of $2,596 for preliminary legal fees in preparation of this property sale and an additional $60,661 for legal fees related to the environmental cleanup at Saint John the Evangelist back in 2016, during the tenure of Father Giuliano.

As such, we are proposing the following distribution of property sale proceeds:

Under the norms provided by canon law, a bishop is permitted to levy a taxa of up to 50% on proceeds from extraordinary bequests or property transactions. Thus, the remaining proceeds would be split equally between the parish and the archdiocese. This contribution would allow us to continue to provide financial support to those most in need throughout the archdiocese."

As you can see from the $285,000 sale, we received $95,483.89. I suppose we should be thankful that we received anything at all since it's common practice when a sale of property takes place, the ADNY receives all the funds to pay back a parish’s outstanding debt. For our part, we are indeed fortunate not to have any outstanding debt, as many parishes do. However, my biggest concern was the $63,256 that was taken from this sale to pay for the environmental issues that arose at St. John’s during the construction at 33 E. Main in Pawling. There is no need to go into too much detail here, but contaminated soil was discovered on St. John’s property during the renovation of the Fr. Moriarity Center. The problem was resolved equitably, with the owner of 33 E Main paying for the soil removal. For this, I am grateful. However, I voiced my sincerest displeasure that the lawyer and environmental fees were paid back with funds from the sale of St. Charles’s rectory. As I see it, this money should have been taken out of St. John's PAC funds, a savings account we have with the ADNY, in 2016. I'm not happy about how this was handled, but nothing can be done since the sale is now final. All we can do at this point is take the proceeds offered and add them to the St. Charles account.

I plan to use the $95,000, some Renew + Rebuild funds, and PAC money, to make improvements at St. Charles during 2021. These improvements will include: 

•    Painting the outside of the church.

•    Making aesthetic improvements to the inside of the church.  

•    Improving St. Charles cemetery by

o    Paving the road.

o    Adding the memorialized bricks to the Marian Gazebo now located there.

o    Possibly opening a water line to the cemetery from the street.  

To conclude, again I do apologize that I did not explain this to you sooner. I hope this letter has informed you about the distribution of the proceeds of the final sale of our rectory and the money we received from it. 

If you have any questions or concerns about this, please feel free to call me or come see me at the parish office. 

Sincerely yours, 
Fr. Palatucci 
 

Good day parishioners and Pawling residents. Another beautiful day in late summer even f a bit rainy. I think we're all getting the sense that fall is soon upon us, my favorite time of the year.

I have been hearing concerns as the new gated fence is being installed around St. John’s parking lot. Please allow me to address some of them.

When I arrived here in 2017, I was entrusted by the Archdiocese of New York to look after the parish family and property. My primary responsibility here is to care for souls and the property, first as administrator and now as a pastor. I can honestly say I enjoy living in Pawling very much. I have a large parish area to cover from Poughquag, Pawling, Wingdale, and Dover. St. John the Evangelist merged with St. Charles Borromeo in Dover Plains in 2018, and soon after, I was named pastor in September 2018. There's a lot on my plate, but I love it! And being a resident here is a joy. Pawling is a gem.  

One of the first things I did when I arrived here was to seek advice from Mr. Rod Cassidy, the head of the legal department of the Archdiocese of New York, about the parking situation in St. John's lot. Because of liability risk, he strongly advised me to end all non-church and overnight parking. I asked him if I could get people to sign a liability release form. He said I could, but the chances of that holding up in court were slim.  I asked about having them pay a nominal monthly to park there and assign them spots.  He said the state doesn’t allow houses of worship to do that without the municipalities and state wanting their cut in taxes. That was three years ago. But I continued to let people park there anyway, knowing they’re in a difficult position, especially along Fairway, although it’s hard to understand why the village doesn't allow curbside parking in the winter months with a parking permit. You can land a Cessna on that road, it's so wide. Many villages have overnight parking permits for residents only. It would also generate some income for Pawling.

Also, on many Sunday mornings, I've counted upward of 20-25 unauthorized cars in the lot before anyone was sitting in a pew. That’s forces parishioners to find parking elsewhere for Mass, including CVS. Nearly 1/3 of the spots designated for them are used by people who don't attend our church so that those who do attend, especially the elderly, must search for other places to park. Does that seem fair? People sometimes walk their dogs on parish property and owners have not cleaned up after them which is not only disrespectful but illegal.

As I’ve asked people not to park there, doing only what I’m supposed to do for my people as their pastor, I’ve had obscene hand gestures thrown my way, stared down in a threatening manner, told that priests like me make them never want to go to church anymore, that all I care about is money, and called a racist.  People have used our lot for the train station or for visiting Pawling.  Commercial trucks have been parked there with oil and gasoline leaking out of landscaping equipment, ruining the pavement…on private property.  Young people use it for skateboarding, riding bicycles or playing.  And God forbid that a young person was to explore the wooded area in the back of the lot and fall into the creek and get hurt or even drown!  St. John's parking lot has become the most available lot and even a playground.  It cannot longer be this way.  

When local residents park their cars there for non-church business or overnight, it puts the parish in a severe liability position.  Recently a car was broken into and items stolen from it.  It may result in a lawsuit from their insurance company to pay for the broken window. Last April, a person had professional mechanics repairing a vehicle on the lot. Never once did that person ask me if it was okay to do so or explain why it was necessary to do that work in the parking lot. That's when I made my final and difficult decision to make a change--that all overnight and non-church related parking needed to end. I don't think people understand the kind of liability the parish would face if that car fell on one of those mechanics, or if they lost a finger or hurt their hand severely while working on the engine.

What it boils down to is the zeitgeist. We live in a sad age right now--too many people think they have a right to use private property without permission. It’s an age where common decency, gratitude, and respect for others is lacking.  It’s the age of the lawsuit, of litigation, and finding holes in the system to get a payout. If a young person skateboarding or a child riding a bicycle on the property falls and cracks their head open or breaks a limb, what happens? A lawsuit. A tree falls on a car--lawsuit. A bumper is taken out by a snowplow--lawsuit. When Fr. Duff was pastor here, I heard he was sued because a person slipped on the ice as they were going to their car.  Maybe the person would not sue, but the insurance company would insist upon it guaranteed.  I’m sure we get the picture.

Let's be perfectly honest here, would anyone of you allow that on your privately owned property? Do I have to answer that question? So why should the parish? People assume because it's a church we’re supposed to be "welcoming" at all times. I'd be very welcoming if we lived in a world of appreciation and gratitude, a world where people are accountable for their own lives and didn't look for lawsuit payouts. I would freely allow people to use the parking lot overnight, let kids play there, skateboarders skateboard, and even allow people to enjoy the space if needed, but, sadly, that’s not the world we live in. I know that, and I’m sure you do as well. So, until this changes--and I'm hopeful and confident one day it will change--then St. John’s has a gated fence installed that will be closed at the owner’s discretion. It’s a testament to the kind of world we live in right now.  Unfortunately, all unauthorized vehicles will be subject to tow at their expense or will have to pay a fee to have the gated opened by a company designated to do that.  

Thank you and have a blessed day, Fr. John F. X. Palatucci.